Note to Brands and PR companies – what consumers really think about bloggers

Brands, please don’t think that we are stupid; when we see the same people posting the same brand within a few hours of each other, we don’t think WOW THIS MUST BE SOMETHING SPECIAL, we all get annoyed and think INSTAGRAM TRAP FREEBIE ALERT and WE ARE PUT OFF. Why wouldn’t we be, it is just so obvious!

We consumers have no problem with PR companies using bloggers but dont you think it would look more convincing if you used one or two and then let them tell the story properly?

As long as the blogger tells us it is sponsored, for me this is just part of brands using a bloggers’ following to drive traffic to their brand.

Honesty is key, if you wouldn’t spend your own money on it, you shouldn’t share it. We can all find that one piece in a collection that is kind of OK. Shoot it with great light and make it look amazing but in most cases it really isn’t, and the blogger would never spend their own money buying it. This for me is NOT BLOGGING, what is the point of it, we might as well go back to reading magazines.

Stop these blogger breakfasts, bloggers don’t want to go (the good ones anyway as they are too busy). If you are juggling work, the school run etc etc seeing someone dolled up wafting a latte or glass of champagne is just plain annoying.

Invite one blogger and for a change, how about rewarding your real customers, by this I mean your loyal buyers who comment and share your brand. We consumers value the opinion more than someone promised a goody bag for popping in.

Attending Press Days has become a job for some bloggers, I have been to a few and I always research the brand in advance, prepare questions and make an effort.

I was clearly in the minority, most of the bloggers are sitting around drinking and chatting to themselves. It has put me off attending any more events, send me the product, let me trial it, and if I love it, I am happy to write about it. Bloggers dont need to meet the founders/owners, leave that to proper jornalisits who have studied and worked hard at their craft.

IT IS NOT A JOB TO PUT WHAT YOU ARE WEARING TO A PRESS EVENT ON INSTAGRAM. TURN UP, TAKE A PICTURE, PUT ON AN INSTASTORY AND EXPECT TO GET PAID!

With the advent of ‘Like to Know’ it means that bloggers feel that there is no need to bother to write and PR companies feed this by sending freebies to these bloggers.

Moving on to emerging brands I get that you need to use bloggers to generate traffic but again, don’t use the same gang all the time, it comes across as rent-a-crowd.

There are so many great bloggers out there, they may not have the same numbers, but their readers are loyal and they don’t just turn up to the opening of an envelope. When they do appear somewhere their readers take note.

Magazines, please look at who you are giving space to. Are these women real influncers? What are they pushing, is it helping women or just persuading them to buy more and more average stuff?

Freebies should be stopped. If you are a serious blogger you should be paid for your time. Bloggers don’t value freebies and it devalues a brand. Look at your customer base and send them a freebie or offer a discount instead.

I feel blogging is going through a real moment of change and we consumers demand better. As a blogger I don’t want freebies, if you like what I do, pay me.

I feel like brands think using a blogger is a box they have to tick, I’m telling you that you don’t have to, but if you do, just choose one that really gets the brand, has featured it before (without being paid) and whose readers’ represent your demographic properly.

So what is the future? Well, I have Muses like Sarah Harris that I look up to. The odd blogger which I follow (three that I actually am influenced by) and the rest of the time I gain my true guidance from my friends. This works best as they have the same lifestyle/budgets/at same stage in life as me, so it works.

I also don’t have any time for bloggers complaining about trolls, negative comments or bad press. IF YOU ARE A BLOGGER, ALL PRESS IS GOOD PRESS. Grow up, stop moaning, there are real problems in the world. If you shoot a campaign and are all over the media, you are being paid for it, if you get a slating, you are a grown up – just deal with it or don’t take on the highly paid job in the first place. Also stop complaning about being tired from Fashion Week or heading to numerous Press Days, get real, this is no manual labour.

Readers, stop pandering to these bloggers, PLEASE, we fuel it. We need to invest as much time with our real friends rather than commenting on people who we don’t know. Call bloggers out, I like it if someone questions me as it makes me think and hopefully helps me improve. There is a big difference between someone blogging for their own sake and those being paid by big companies.

There are so many ‘luvvie’ comments, come on, be honest, the blogger is being paid, make them work for their money. Ask them if they would pay for it? What material is it? Is it gifted? Until readers question, the practises won’t improve. I used to do it a bit as you feel that if you are nice to them they are nice to you, but what value does this bring? If you love what you see, comment, if you don’t then just leave it and the blogger will know.

Brands need to USE REAL CONSUMERS and bloggers that know your brand and let them tell their story, it is a whole lot more compelling.

This has longevity, I have seen so many brands waste money on bloggers and yes they get some incoming traffic and brand recognition but that doesn’t often crystalize into sales or longevity.

Yes, all this is a bit trickier to organize but that is what you are paying your PR company for!!

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